RFK Stadium and Parking would be better as a Recreation Area

RFK site as envisioned by NCPC

Events DC is hosting the first of two community meetings to discuss its study on the future of the RFK Stadium site this Wednesday. There are no shortage of plans for utilizing the area for something other than a sprawling parking lot, so let me add mine here. It's actually not too different from ideas that have already been pitched, like the grass roots effort to turn the northern piece into the Capital Riverside Youth Sports Park, or the NCPC's RFK Stadium Site Redevelopment Study from 2006 which stated that

NCPC planners believe the RFK site should be an environmentally friendly gateway into the monumental core. It should include a large waterfront park, with recreational fields and open space, augmented by commemorative works and connected to the surrounding neighborhoods by pedestrian and bicycle paths

My idea is to turn the area, at least the area east of 22nd street, into Kennedy Brothers National Recreation Area. The land is already owned by the National Parks Service and so keeping it in their hands is probably the easiest option, but other NRA's are managed by other organizations, so it might be possible to have DC Parks manage it - since technically it's a part of the federal government. With RFK Stadium and the Ethel Kennedy Bridge nearby, keeping the connection to the Kennedy's - with sports and recreation areas especially - would be great way to honor the family which includes a President, a Senator, a cabinet Secretary and a WWII aviator who died in action. Also, it would likely gain support from some MA Congress members.

Fill the area with sports fields and facilities, playgrounds, appropriate open green space, expanded trails and a simple memorial. Perhaps a museum could be included too.

The space, larger than many other urban parks, would make it possible to add some more niche facilities as well. For example, the 2012 DC Olympic bid at one time considered the RFK site for the needed velodrome (although later that was moved to Baltimore at a site TBD), but the area would be a great place to build one. Attempts have been made to build one in Long Bridge Park and more recently at Buzzard's Point, but both have fizzled. But a real velodrome - like the one in Lehigh Valley, PA or the one frequently considered outside Philadelphia, could bring regiular events to DC, while creating a unique recreation opportunity too.

Capital Riverside Youth Sports Park

It won't be easy. The politicians seem to already support a new football stadium.

If a stadium went there, there would still need to be parking, in reality, for it to get done, but you could do it with multistory garages and free up a lot of space.

I would love a velodrome. Finally get to use my track bike for its intended purpose instead of just as a rain machine. The economic benefits of having a velodrome as part of the park would be attractive too, though I'm sure the city council and most locals would prefer getting the pigskins back.

Minor quibble, but it's the National Park Service (not Parks). Intriguing idea to have a NRA managed by DC Parks. You are correct that some NRA's are not managed by NPS, but I believe the only other agency in that position is the Forest Service (e.g. Mt Rogers NRA in southwest VA).

NRA's need to be created by an act of Congress, so I say lobby your (non-voting) member of Congress to introduce a bill. Or maybe a member of Congress from VA or MD.

Might be simpler to have this new park incorporated into Anacostia Park, already under NPS management (as part of National Capital Parks East). This might not require an act of Congress since that unit of the park system is probably currently responsible for the land there.

Regardless of how it's managed, I think this is a great proposal and would be a much better use of land than surface parking.

Usually the Forest Service ends up with NRAs when a portion of a national forest is considered especially significant for recreation, so the management approach is shifted to emphasize recreation over extractive uses. It's done with land that is already part of a national forest.

The forest service (and NPS and BLM) also manages several national monuments, which are similar but are usually created by presidential proclamation under the antiquities act rather than by Congress. Maybe that's another model here - petition the President to create a national monument at RFK. Since it's already federal land I think it could be done, legally. Politically it might be a different story.

Another idea to add to the NRA: a bike-learning area. Arlington is building a small one, and European cities often have bigger spaces, where people, especially kids, can learn the basics of riding a bike, including how to deal with infrastructure you encounter (signals, signs, lanes, etc).

If we actually build a velodrome can we get the road racing crowd to train there instead of the trails on weekends? That would start mending a lot of fences with the non-racing crowd as well as motorists, pedestrians, etc. who are regularly terrorized by the speed bandits.

The best analogue for an urban National Recreation Area is Golden Gate NRA. Several parts of GGNRA are managed by other entities -- including most of he Presidio, which is run by the self-sustaining Presidio Trust (a federal entity that operates mixed-use development on the site), and Sharp Park in San Mateo County, which is confusingly owned and managed by San Francisco Recreation & Parks.